Hat crown pouncing and ragging machine



Deg. 24, 1957 H. T. ATwboD ,8 7

HAT CROWN POUNCING AND RAGGINGMACHINE Filed Sept. 21, 1954- 5Sheets-Sheet 1 HAROLD T. Arwooo Dec. 24, 1957 H. T.- ATWOOD 7 HAT CROWNPOUNCING AND RAGGING MACHINE I Filed Sept. 21, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheetjfizefiz r HABOLD T. Arwooo 5 Sheets- Sheet s H. T. ATWOOD HAT CROWNPOUNCING AND RAGGING MACHINE Deg. 24, 1957 Filed se i". 21, 1954EZEJEYEJ: HAROLD T. IATWOOD Dec. 24, 1957 H. 1-. ATWOOD HAT CROWNPouucmc AND RAGGING MACHINE Filed Sept. 21, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 HA120w TArwooo Dec. 24, 1957 H. 'r. ATWOOD 2,

HAT CROWN POUNCING AND RAGGING-MACHINE FilediSept. 21, 1954 5Sheets-Sheet 5 fig. 11

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1225M Z4222: HAROLD T. ATwooo United States Patent 2,817,467 PatentedDec. 24, 1957 fiice HAT CROWN POUNCING AND RAGGING MACHINE Harold T.Atwood, Chicago, Ill. Application September 21, 1954, Serial No. 457,3391 Claim. (Cl. 223-40) This invention relates to a hat crown pouncing andragging machine that may be used in connection with either new or usedmens felt hats.

In the manufacture of mens felt hats or in the renovation of old hatsthe fibers must be trimmed to uniform length and, after the felt isgreased and powdered, the fibers are raised to make them stand out togive the surface of the hat a pleasing appearance.

Heretofore these operations have been done manually by an operatorholding a pouncing or ragging cloth against the crown of a hat mountedon a rotating chuck. Even with experienced operators the results are notalways uniform because the manually exerted pressure may vary or theoperator may pass over some portions of the hat quicker than others."Itis an object of the present invention to provide a machine that willoperate without the attention of an operator after it has been startedand will stop automatically after it has completed a single operation.

It is another object of the invention to provide a pouncing headprovided with a pad having an arcuately curved edge to shape a pouncingor ragging cloth secured against the surface of the pad so that thecloth will conform to the contour of the portion of the hat againstwhich it is held with uniform pressure.

Another object is to provide means for moving the pouncing head in apredetermined arc while the hat crown is rotated on'the chuck so thatthe pouncing head will move from the lower edge of the side of the crownto the center of the crown and then back to its initial position at thelower edge of the side of the crown. Another object is to provide meansfor automatically moving the pouncing head out of contact with the hatcrown as it approaches the center of the crown and to move it back intocontact with the center of the crown of the hat as it starts itsmovement in the reverse direction, so that the pouncing pad will engagethe center of the crown, where the felt is thinnest, only once, and willengage the rest of the hat surface twice.

It is a further object of the invention to provide means for closelyregulating the rotational speed of the chuck on which the hat ismounted. The structure by means of which the above and other objects ofthe invention are attained will be described in the followingspecification, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings,showing a preferred illustrative embodiment of the invention, in which:

. Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a pouncing and ragging machineembodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the machine;

- Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view, taken along the line 33 of Fig. 1,showing the eccentric roller and cam for moving the pouncing pad acrossthe crown of the hat and means for controlling the electric circuit.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view through the hat chuck;

Fig. 5 is. a cross sectional view, taken along the line 5+ are 2; t

- move plate 22 forwardly against the rear ends of jaws 20,"

Fig. 6 is a cross sectional view, taken along the line 6-6 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a cross sectional view, taken along the line 7--7 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 8 is a cross sectional view, taken along the line 8-8 of Fig. l

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary elevational view showing the arm adapted toregulate the speed of rotation of the chuck;

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary sectional view showing the cam for positioningthe pouncing arm relative to the crown of the hat with the cam in theposition occupied as the pouncing pad is held out of engagement with thecenter of the crown; t r

Fig. 11 is a view similar to Fig. 10 showing the arm in the positionoccupied as the pouncingpad is moving back into engagement with thecenter of the crown of the hat; and

Fig. 12 is a fragmentary bottom elevational view looking upwardly at thepouncing arm and showing the cam roller for positioning the pouncing armrelative to the crown of the hat.

Referring to the drawings, the reference numeral 2 indicates abasesupporting an upstanding housing 3. A bracket 4 is pivoted to thehousing 3, as indicated at 5 (Fig. l). A motor 6, rigidly mounted onbracket 4 drives a shaft 7 on which a split sheave 8 is mounted. Anendless belt 9 seated between the two disks of sheave 8 extends around apulley 10 to drive a shaft 11 on which the pulley 10 is secured.

The inner side wall surfaces of the disks of sheave 8 are taperedoutwardly from shaft 7. As bracket 4 is moved pivotally towards housing3 the disks move closer together and the seat of belt 9 moves outwardlyfrom shaft 7. The outward movement of the seat of belt 9 has the sameeffect as increasing the size of the pulley 8 relative to the size ofpulley 10 and therefore speeds up the rotation of pulley 10 and shaft11. The pivotal movement of bracket 4 is controlled by an arm 12 whichis pivoted to bracket 4 to move parallel to its face and is adapted tomove the bracket pivotallywhen it is moved in a plane at right angles tothe face of the bracket. A plate 13 (Fig. 9) provided with a pluralityof notches 14 extending inwardly from one edge is positioned adjacentone side of arm 12. A spring 15 secured at one end to bracket 4 urgesarm 12 towards the notches 14. Accordingly, whenever the bracket 4 is tobe moved pivotally, the arm 12 is moved out of its notch 14 and moved inthe direction in which the bracket is to be moved. As soon as the forcemoving arm 12 and bracket 4 is released, the spring 15 will move the arm12 into the closest notch 14 to hold the arm and bracket against furthermovement.

As shown in Fig. 4, a worm wheel 16 mounted on shaft 11 meshes with aworm gear 17 to drive a spindle 18 to which worm wheel 17 is rigidlysecured. The rate of rotation of spindle 18 is closely controlled bypositioning the arm 12 in different notches 14. Spindle 18 is speeded upby moving the motor 6 closer to pulley 10 and is slowed down by movingit away. A chuck 19, adapted to hold a hat to be pounced and ragged, ismounted on the forward end of the spindle 18 and rotates therewith.

The chuck comprises a pair of substantially U-shaped jaws 20 eachpivotally mounted in a housing 21. Each jaw 2% has one end engaging thefront end of a plate 22 slidably mounted on the spindle. A spring 23,seated in housing 21 and bearing against the rear portion of jaw 20urges each jaw towards the other. The front ends of jaws 20 are movedaway from each other by a cam 24 which engages a ball bearing 22interposed between the cam 24 and the plate 22. The cam is controlled bya shaft 25 which is actuated manually by a lever 25 to amass? As soon asshaft 25 is released, springs 23 move the front ends of the jaws towardseach other to hold the block on which the hat is mounted.

A gear 26, rigidly secured to spindle 18 within housing 21, meshes witha gear 27 mounted rigidly on a shaft 28 journalled in opposite walls ofhousing 3. A Worm wheel 29, mounted on shaft 28 meshes with a worm gear(not shown) on the upper end of a shaft 30. The shaft 30 extends througha bearing 31 mounted on the inner surface of one wall of housing 3 andthrough the top wall 32 of base 2. The bottom of shaft 30 is secured toa rotatable disk 33 positioned within the base 2 (Fig. 3).

A nut 34 secures one end of a crank 35 to disk 33 adjacent itscircumference. The other end of the crank 35 is secured adjacent thecircumference of a disk 36 by a nut 37. The nuts 34 and 37 are sopositioned that as disk 33 rotates continuously in one direction thedisk 36 oscillates through an angle slightly greater than 90. Theoscillatory motion of disk 36 controls the movement of the pouncing armhereinafter described.

The electrical circuit controlling the operation of motor 6 is housedsubstantially in base 2. The circuit includes an emergency cut ofiswitch 38 of the push button type that is operable to open the circuitat any time. The push button 38 projects through the front wall of base2 so that it is always easily accessible to the operator. Another switch40, for the operation of the machine, is mounted on a bell crank 41pivotally mounted on the underside of the top wall of base 2, asindicated at 42. Switch 40 has an actuating arm 43 projecting outwardlytowards the periphery of disk 36. Arm 43 is spring pressed to urge itoutwardly and is arranged to close the circuit when it is in extendedposition. Disk 36 is provided with a cam projection 44 extendinglaterally from its periphery and engageable with actuator arm 43 topress it inwardly to open the circuit.

A spring pressed rod 45 engaging switch 40 extends through the frontwall of base 2 and is provided on its outer end with a button 46. Whenthe machine is at its normal closed position cam projection 44 is inengagement with actuator arm 43 to hold it from movement to its extendedposition. Inward pressure on rod 45 moves switch 40 rearwardly so thatactuator arm 43 moves outwardly from switch 40 to close the circuit andstart motor 6. When the motor starts, the disk 36 starts moving. A setscrew 47 mounted on an arm 48 of hell crank 41 is positioned close tothe periphery of disk 36 so that as cam projection 44 moves past the setscrew it pushes arm 48 away from the periphery of disk 36 around pivot41 and thereby moves switch 40 forwardly to reset it in its initialposition. When the movement of crank 35 brings disk 36 back to itsinitial position the cam projection 44 engages actuator arm 43 andpresses it inwardly of switch 40 to open the circuit and stop themachine.

A shaft 49 secured centrally to disk 36 projects upwardly through thetop wall of base 2, as shown in Fig. 2. An arm 50 is rigidly secured toshaft 49 to oscillate therewith. A pouncing arm 51 is pivotally mountedon arm 50, as shown in Fig. 2. The pouncing arm comprises a plate 52, abracket 53 slidably secured to the upper end portion of plate 52 by arack 54 (Fig. 7) and pinion 55, and a pouncing plate 56 (Fig. rotatablymounted in the upper end of bracket 53, as indicated at 57, Fig. 2.

A knob 58 has a shank 58' which projects through plate 52 and into arm50 to lock the pouncing arm against pivotal movement when it is swung toits outermost position, as when a hat is to be moved from the chuck.After a hat has been positioned on the chuck, knob 58 has been released,and the pouncing arm has been swung forwardly to its normal operativeposition, the inward movement of the pouncing arm is regulated by a flatcoil spring 59 contained within a housing 60 and secured to a spindle 61which projects through the plate 52 (Fig. 8). The pressure exerted byspring 59 is adjusted by rotational movement of an arm 62 integral withthe housing 60, in accordance with a gage 63 mounted adjacent thehousing 60. The spindle 61 is provided with a plurality of serrations orteeth 64 which are engaged by a spring pressed pin 65 (Fig. l) to lockthe pressure regulating means against accidental movement after the arm62 has been positioned to put the desired tension on the spring 59.

The pressure regulating means is effective only when the pouncing arm ispositioned correctly with respect to the size of the hat to be worked onby the pouncing arm. For example, the smaller the hat mounted on thechuck, the closer the spacing of the pouncing arm to the chuck. Thisdistance is regulated by means of the rack 54 and pinion 55 (Fig. 7)which are operable by means of a knob 66 rigidly secured to the pinionto move the bracket 53 relative to the plate 52. The top of plate 52 iscalibrated in hat sizes to indicate the proper position for bracket 53for each hat size. When the knob 66 has been rotated in the properdirection to position the bracket 53 properly a set screw 67 istightened to lock the bracket in the desired position.

The pouncing plate 56 (Fig. 5) is mounted at one side of a vibrator 68and is provided with a plurality of ball bearings 69. The vibrator isconventional and will not be described. A strip 70 of pouncing paper ismounted on a core 71 and extends around the front of the pouncing plateand a pad 72 which is secured to the pouncing plate. The part of thepouncing paper that covers the front of the pad 72 engages the hat crownas the hat is rotated on the chuck 19 and the pouncing arm 51 isoscillated with the arm 50 which is rigidly secured to the shaft 49. Theamplitude of the oscillation is great enough to carry the pouncing padfrom the bottom edge of the crown adjacent the brim to the tip of thecrown, and back to the bottom edge thereof.

The pouncing paper covering the pad 72 remains in use until the operatordecides that it is worn out, and pulls additional paper off the core 71,in a manner hereinafter described, to position fresh pouncing paper infront of the pad 72. The positioning of fresh pouncing paper in front ofthe pad 72 does not require any interruption of the hat pouncing processsince it may be done during the period (hereinafter described) when thepad is removed from the hat crown. The edge of the pad 72 which firstengages the crown of the hat as the pouncing arm 51 is oscillated fromthe edge of the crown adjacent the brim to the tip of the crown isarcuately shaped so as to engage all portions of the crown of the hatwith uniformity to produce an even cutting effect over the entiresurface of the crown of the hat. A stud 73 projecting upwardly from abracket 74 secured to one side of a frame 75, which is secured to therear of the vibrator 68, holds the roll of paper against accidentaldisplacement.

The strip of paper is held against the outer surface of the pad 72 bymeans of a pair of clamps 76 and 77 and is threaded between rollers 78and 79. A screw 80 presses roller 79 against roller 78 so that the stripof paper may be fed, when clamps 76 and 77 are loosened, by rotation ofa knob 81 (Fig. 2) mounted on the shaft 82 of roller 78. Rollers 78 and79 are mounted on a bracket 83 secured to the opposite end of frame 75.An idler roller 84- holds the strip 70 taut between pad 72 and roller78. The plate 56 is preferably provided with guides 85 to keep the paperaligned properly with pad 72. A flat spring 86, secured at one end toframe 75 clamps against the paper coiled around core 71 to preventslack.

An offset cam 87 is secured to the lower end portion of plate 52 in anysuitable manner. The cam, as shown in Figs. l0-12, comprises a rod 88drive fitted in an aperture (not shown) in the lower end portion of theplate 52. The aperture extends across the width of the plate 52. The rod88, which is prevented from rotating by its drive fit, has an enlargedend abutting one edge of the plate 52, as shown in Fig. 8 and 12. Asleeve 89 is rotatably mounted on the rod 88 on the opposite side of theplate 52. The free end of sleeve 89 is olfset relative to the rod 88. Aspring 90 has one. end secured to a pin projecting from the rod 88 andthe other end secured to a pin projecting from the sleeve 89. The sleeve89 is provided with a slot 91 and a pin 92 projects from rod 88 throughslot 91 to limit the rotational movement of the sleeve relative to therod. The spring 90 normally holds the sleeve 89 in position with itsfree end above the rod 88. When the sleeve 89 is rotated within thelimits permitted by the slot 91 and pin 92, as hereinafter described,the spring 90 is extended partially around the circumference of the rod88 and exerts a constant force against the sleeve 89, tending to rotateit back into its normal position, with its free end above the rod 88.The interengagement of the slot 91 and the pin 92 keeps the sleeve 89properly positioned on the rod 88. A roller 93 is rotatably mounted onthe free end of sleeve 89. The end of the sleeve 89 is peened over theend of the roller 93 to prevent removal of the roller from the sleeve.If desired, the end of the sleeve 89 could be provided with a threadedrecess, and a screw with an enlarged head could be threaded therein tohold the roller 93 on the sleeve. The roller 93 is concentric with thefree end of the sleeve 89, and, therefore, is eccentric relative to therod 88 and the major portion of the sleeve 89.

A cam track 94 secured to the top wall 32 of base 2 is curved to conformto the circular oscillatory movement of the pouncing arm and is alignedwith the cam roller 93. As shown in Fig. 2, the cam track has aninclined surface 95 and a groove or recess 96 cut below the upper edge97 of the surface 95. As the oscillatory movement of arm 50 brings thepouncing arm towards the front of the machine, as viewed in Fig. 2, thecam roller engages inclined surface 95 and tilts cam 87 rearwardly,thereby moving pouncing pad 72 out of contact with the crown of the hatwhich is mounted on the chuck as the pouncing pad approaches the centerof the crown of the hat. At the end of the oscillatory movement of thearm 50 in that direction the cam roller 93 moves into the recess 96.

When the cam roller falls in the recess 96 it moves the pouncing arm 51toward the chuck, but not far enough to move the pouncing pad 72 backinto engagement with the hat crown. While the pouncing pad is spacedfrom the hat crown the arm 50 starts its movement in the reversedirection. The rod 88 moves with the arm 50 and pulls the cam roller 93out of the recess 96. The resistance of the cam roller 93 to movementout of the recess 96 causes it to drag slightly and also causes thesleeve 89 to rotate against the action of the spring 90, thus bringingthe cam roller 93 into the horizontal plane of the rod 88 with thethicker portion of the sleeve, relative to the free end portion of thesleeve on which the cam roller 93 is mounted, at one side of the sleeve,as shown in Fig. 11. This rotation of the sleeve 89, relative to the rod88, lowers the horizontal level of the ofiset end of the sleeve, onwhich the cam roller 93 is rotatably mounted, relative to the rod 88.Since the actual horizontal position of the cam roller 93 is governed byits rolling engagement with the cam track 94, the rod 88 is raised tothe level of the cam roller. The rod 88 is rigidly secured in the plate52, and, therefore, the lifting of the rod 88 moves the pouncing arm 51inwardly about its pivot so that the pouncing pad 72 engages the hatcrown at the tip or center, as the arm 50 moves back toward its initialposition. When the cam roller is moved out of contact with the inclinedsurface 95, spring 90 moves the eccentric free end of the sleeve 89 backto its normal position with the thicker portion on the bottom of thesleeve so that it is ready for the next oscillation of arm 50.

The operation of the machine may be summarized as follows: The lock pin65 is released and the pouncing arm 51 is swung rearwardly to theoutermost position in which it is locked by the shank of knob 58. Thelever 25 is then pulled forwardly to move arms 20 of the chunk away fromeach other. If a hat block is on the chuck it is removed and another hatblock placed on the spindle 18. The lever 25 is released, and springs 23move the arms 20 into position to hold the hat block and hat on thechuck. The knob 66 is turned to position the bracket 53 in accordanceWit-h the size of the hat and the arm 62 is moved to adjust the tensionof the spring 59 in accordance with the amount of pressure to be exertedby the pouncing pad against the hat. It is obvious that these variousadjustments are made only when the factors controlled by them aredifferent. The knob 58 is released and the pouncing arm is swungforwardly to its normal operative position. The starter button 46 isthen pressed inwardly to actuate switch 40.

The chuck starts rotating and the pouncing pad moves into contact with apredetermined area on the crown of the hat. The arm 50 moves thepouncing arm through a predetermined arc, and the shape of the pouncingpad insures proper engagement of the pouncing paper with the crown ofthe hat until a short distance from the center of the crown when camroller 93 moves the pouncing pad out of contact with the crown. The arm50 starts its rearward movement and the pouncing pad moves intoengagement with the crown at its center. When the pouncing pad has movedback to the original area where it first engaged the crown, the camprojection 44 engages actuating arm 43 and stops the motor 6. Thisarrangement causes the pouncing pad to pass over each portion of thecrown twice except adjacent the center where it engages the crown onlyonce. The reason for such treatment is that the felt of the crown isthinner at the center and cannot stand as much pouncing as the otherportions of the crown.

After the hat has been pounced it may be greased and powdered, and thenragged on the same machine with a ragging cloth substituted for thepouncing paper.

While I have described a preferred embodiment of my invention inconsiderable detail, it will be understood that the description thereofis intended to be illustrative, rather than restrictive, as many detailsmay be modified or changed without departing from the spirit or scope ofthe invention. Accordingly, I do not desire to be restricted to theexact construction described except as limited by the appended claim.

I claim:

A hat pouncing machine comprising a base, a housing extending upwardlyfrom said base, a bracket hinged to said housing, a motor mounted onsaid bracket, a rotatable chuck adjacent said housing, means operativelyconnecting said motor and said chuck, said means including a splitsheave adapted to vary the speed of rotation of said chuck as said motoris moved pivotally, a pair of disks in said base, one of said disksbeing operatively connected to said motor for rotational movement, acrank connecting said disks, whereby said second disk oscillates througha predetermined angle upon rotation of said first disk, means on saidsecond disk to shut off said motor when said second disk returns to itsinitial position, a shaft secured to said second disk and projectingupwardly through said base, an arm extending laterally from said shaft,a pouncing arm mounted on said first mentioned arm, rack and pinionmeans for moving said pouncing arm relative to said chuck to adjust theposition of said pouncing arm with respect to a hat supported by saidchuck, a pouncing pad mounted on said pouncing arm, a spring in saidpouncing arm to urge said pad against a hat secured to said chuck, meansto adjust the tension of said spring to regulate the pressure of saidpad against said hat, said first mentioned arm oscillating said pouncingarm as said second disk is oscillated to move said pouncing pad acrossthe crown of a hat secured to said chuck, and back to its initialposition during one cycle of said second disk, and means to move saidpouncing pad away from said crown during 2,817,467 7 3 a a predeterminedportion of its movement in one direction, References Cited in the fileof this patent whereby a predetermined portion of said crown is enUNITED STATES PATENTS gaged by said pouncing pad once, and the rest ofsaid crown is engaged by said pad twice during each cycle of 2,137,250Schultze 1938 movement of said second disk. 5 215565 12 Ammon Jung 1951

